Silence in the Forest
by EllaoftheOpera
Summary: Casey Winchester and her brothers are visiting one of John's old hunting pals so they can help him on a case. Something seems wrong, though. Casey can't quite put her finger on it... A tale where people aren't always who they say they are, and things aren't always as they seem. No pairings. No swearing or sexual content. Rated T for, you know, it's Supernatural. You get the idea.
1. Chapter 1

Dean - 28; Sam - 24; Casey - 19;

Casey Winchester prided herself on being tough as nails. She could say with certainty that almost nothing scared her. And with a job like hers, it had to be that way. It would be mighty hard for a hunter to do their job if they were terrified of every monstrous thing that entered their path.

There were, however, a few select things that made her mildly uncomfortable. Snakes, for instance. She never did like those. And bats. But if there was one thing Casey could truly say she was scared of, it was being yelled at.

It was an old, deep-rooted, and frankly embarrassing fear. She had grown up in an abusive household, always being carted off to abusive foster home after abusive foster home before ultimately landing back in the original craphole. She had been trained from the get-go that if somebody yelled at her, they were going to hit her, or worse. Casey had been put through the wringer, and no amount of love or reassurance that it would never happen again would ever convince her that she was completely in the clear. Because of this, she had a very hard time trusting people, men in particular.

If there was anybody she could without a doubt trust, it was her brothers. Sam had never raised his voice at her and promised he never would. And Casey believed him. Dean yelled on occasion, but almost never at her. She could count the number of times he had yelled at her on one hand. She knew above all that they would never, ever hurt her.

There were other people she trusted as well. Bobby, for instance. Underneath his gruff exterior, he had a heart of gold, especially when it came to her. Castiel was nice as well, but she still didn't really know what to think of him. Ever since Dean and Sam had explained her situation to him, he'd almost been walking on eggshells around her. One of these days she'd have to sit him down and explain things properly.

Today, Casey and her brothers were meeting a fellow hunter with a son about her age. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Meeting new people was never fun, especially for her. Cas was sitting in the back seat with her while the two boys sat up front.

"You have no reason to be afraid," Cas said suddenly.

Casey turned to look at him. "Were you reading my thoughts again?"

Cas shrugged. "You seemed distressed. I merely wished to know what was upsetting you."

Casey shook her head. "I'm not afraid, necessarily. I just get nervous when I meet new people, especially when the new people are men."

Cas nodded. "Because of what happened to you in the past."

Casey nodded as well. "Yes."

"Do you trust me, Casey?" he asked unexpectedly.

Casey blinked. "I suppose so. I've never really thought about it, but… yeah, I trust you."

Cas, seemingly satisfied with her answer, turned to face the front again.

Less than an hour later, the Impala pulled up to a small brick dwelling in almost the middle of nowhere.

"Here we are!" Dean announced from the front seat. "Told you I remembered where it was."

Sam rolled his eyes. "None of us doubted you for a second," he replied sarcastically.

Casey slid out of the back seat and took in the scenery. They were in a wide, expansive forest with trees surrounding them on every side. It would be very easy to get lost in a place like this. She'd have to be careful.

Dean went up to the small house and knocked on the door. A man, about Bobby's age, answered it with a smile.

"Sam! Dean! Good to see you boys!" he said, putting an arm around the pair.

Casey unconsciously took a step toward Castiel. He noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder, resolving to keep an eye on her for the duration of their stay.

The man noticed her standing next to the angel. "Who are these two? Friends of yours?"

"Oh right. Howard, this is Casey and Castiel. Casey is our sister and Cas is a close friend," Dean said. "Cas, Casey, this is Howard Kearns. He's one of Dad's old friends."

"Come on in, all of you! We've got quite a bit to discuss." The man moved back, holding the door open to let them all inside.

Casey wasn't sure what she thought of Howard yet. He seemed nice, but she of all people knew that looks could be deceiving. She decided not to form an opinion until she knew more about him. Besides, she had thought the exact same thing when she first met Bobby, and he turned out to be perfectly trustworthy.

Before Casey could go any deeper into her thoughts, a boy about her age entered the room. He was tall, almost as tall as Sam, and lanky. He had sandy hair and a thick pair of black glasses that magnified his green eyes slightly.

Casey's mind came to a standstill. She didn't know what to think. She had been stricken with the inability to create a single coherent thought. When she finally gathered her wits about her once more, a single thought popped into her head.

 _Gosh, he's cute._

 _Wait._

 _No._

 _Don't think that! Don't think that!_

 _Please Cas, if you're reading my thoughts, don't say anything…_

She was pretty sure her eyes were giving her thoughts away; they were as big as saucers.

Lucky for her, the boy in question was too busy having the same exact thoughts to notice.

 _Wow, she's pretty._

 _Wait._

 _No._

 _Don't! Don't think that! Don't think that!_

 _Man, I'm glad no one in this place can read minds…_

Cas just stood next to Casey, smiling to himself.

The boy finally composed his thoughts again and started walking toward Casey. She unconsciously grabbed the edge of Cas's trench coat for comfort. She had no idea how to talk to boys. She couldn't recall ever meeting one her age. Unless Ash counted… no, heck no, Ash did NOT count. Neither did all of those jerks that were always hitting on her whenever she went anywhere without the boys. What was she supposed to say, _what was she supposed to say!? What-_

"Um, hi. I'm Fisher." The boy, Fisher, stuck his hand out in greeting.

Casey swallowed, hard. "Hi. Casey." She shook his hand, tentatively.

"Nice to meet you, Casey. Who's this?" he asked, pointing to Cas.

"This is Castiel. He's a close friend," she replied.

Dean was grinning to himself, knowing exactly what was going on. Sam punched him in the arm.

"Dude? Ow!"

"If you say one thing to Casey-" Sam started to threaten.

"Cool it! I'm not gonna say anything. This is too good to accidentally mess up."

"Fisher!" Howard called. "Did you grab the files I asked you to get?"

Fisher seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was put into and nodded. "Yeah, got 'em right here."

"Wonderful! Take a look, boys." Howard handed the files to Dean and Sam.

Casey was still standing awkwardly next to Cas. "It's, um, it's really pretty here," she said, trying to make small talk.

Fisher nodded, smiling. "Yeah. I like it a lot. When I was younger I would go exploring in the woods. I would pretend I was a hunter like my dad. Now I don't have to pretend anymore."

Casey nodded. "Yeah."

Casey didn't know why, but she didn't trust Fisher. There was something about him that was bugging her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Nevertheless, she resolved to stay on high alert whenever he was around.

Sam seemed to notice Casey's discomfort. "Hey, Case!" he called. "Come and take a look at these."

Casey, relieved, made her way across the room to Sam and Dean. Castiel followed her protectively. He could sense that she didn't trust either of the new hunters she'd met, and if she didn't trust them then he didn't either.

"Apparently the Wendigo has been following an irregular hunting pattern," Sam explained to her, glancing back to keep an eye on the teenage boy that seemed to be smitten with his sister. "It's only hunting every other night. Most, if not all Wendigos hunt every night, and sometimes during the day as well."

"Are we sure it's a Wendigo, then?" Casey interjected. "I've never known a Wendigo to act like that. They're the hungriest creatures on planet Earth. Maybe it's something else."

Howard shook his head. "We thought it might be a werewolf, but the lunar cycle doesn't match up."

"Vampire?" Casey suggested.

"No," Fisher piped up. "It can't be. Vampires are extinct in this area. We've taken them all out."

"You absolutely sure about that?" Dean questioned. "Casey knows more about this stuff than Sam and I combined. And trust me when I say that when it comes to vampires, where there's a will, there is a way."

"I know these woods back to front," Fisher defended himself. "There are no vampires here. And besides, there was barely anything left of them anyways. Vampires don't eat their prey."

"Could be a witch," she continued. "Found any hex bags around the woods?"

"I think I would have noticed something like that," Fisher responded, folding his arms.

Casey's senses dialed up a notch. She knew that when a person folded their arms, it meant they were starting to get frustrated. And frustration had a way of escalating quickly.

A switch went off in her head. "How about a rugaru?"

Fisher and Howard both blinked at her. "A what now?"

"A rugaru. They feed on human flesh. They leave almost nothing left. They are methodical about their feeding times too."

"There's no such thing as a rugaru," Fisher said with certainty.

Dean gave him a deadpan stare. "You wanna bet, genius?"

"I have a lore book in my duffel that has information on them. I'll go get it," Casey volunteered.

"I'll come with you," Castiel offered.

She nodded, heading out the door. When she got to the Impala, she took a few deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Cas asked, though he already knew the answer to his question.

"I'm okay. I just don't know about that Fisher guy."

"You like him," Cas stated definitively.

Casey raised her eyebrows. "You were reading my thoughts! I knew it!" She turned to open the back door where her duffel was stored.

"He likes you too," Cas added.

She stopped and slowly turned to face him.

"What now?"

"He has a mutual affection for you. I read his thoughts as well."

Casey blinked at him, before shaking her head. "I don't know what to do with that information." She retrieved the book from her bag, then locked the car doors again.

"C'mon. That last thing I want is for him to come outside and find out we're talking about him."


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Dean and Sam were sitting with Howard, hard whiskey in their hands. He had convinced them to take a break in the research and continue in the morning. They had come this far, why not catch up for a little while? Fisher and Casey were now sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching the three adults make fools of themselves. Cas was standing off to the side, watching the proceedings.

"Your friend over there is odd," Fisher observed.

Casey nodded. "Can't argue with you there. He's sweet though, in his own way."

He nodded. "Fair enough."

"Gosh, my brothers are idiots."

Fisher laughed. "I'm inclined to agree with you. Can I ask, why aren't you drinking?"

Fisher had a beer in his hand but was nursing it slowly, not wanting to get drunk.

"I'm the designated driver," she replied. "But even if I wasn't, I'm not a big fan of getting wasted to the point of not having any idea what you did the night before."

"Why can't your friend drive you all home?" he asked.

"He doesn't know how to drive. Long story," she said quickly, seeing that Fisher was about to ask.

He seemed to be contemplating something. Casey sat expectantly, waiting patiently.

"Do you… I hope I'm not being too forward," he started. "But um… do you want to go out with me?"

Casey's eyes widened. "Um… like… on a date?"

He laughed. "Yeah, like on a date."

She thought for a moment before responding. "Okay."

From the other side of the room, Cas was tuned into their conversation.

"Can I pick you up tomorrow night? Will that work?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that should work. Knowing those two knuckleheads, they won't be in any condition to object. We're staying at the only motel in town. I'll meet you out front."

He nodded. "Sounds good."

She glanced over at the boys again and grimaced. "Okay. I think it's time for me to take them home and put them to bed."

She stood and gestured to Cas to come and help her get them out of their chairs.

"Hey, Cas, you look just like Casey," Dean slurred at her. He stumbled out of the door and proceeded to gag outside, but managed to keep his liquor down.

Cas had an arm around Sam, guiding him over the threshold and outside to his brother.

"Does seven work?" Fisher called out the door.

"Seven works!" she called back, pushing Dean into the back seat. She pried the keys from his jacket pocket.

"Stop tickling me Sammy…." he mumbled.

ooOOoo

When Casey came back to the room after getting coffee the next morning, she found Dean still asleep and Sam's bed empty. Based on the noises coming from the bathroom, she guessed that Sam's system wasn't reacting well to the alcohol.

"You okay in there, Sam?" she asked.

There were some more retching noises in response.

"I brought coffee for when you're done, but maybe you'd like a mint first," she continued apologetically.

Dean mumbled something about the room being too bright.

"Sorry about that," she replied, closing the curtains. "Want some aspirin? Dunno that I'd recommend taking it with coffee, but there's a first time for everything I guess."

"Don't wanna get up today…"

"I bet I can make you get up without even touching you," she replied.

"Hmm?"

"I've got a date tonight."

Dean's head shot up off the pillow. "You've got a what?"

"A date."

The bathroom door opened, revealing a sickish looking Sam. Casey tossed him a lifesaver mint, which he fumbled in catching due to his fine motor skills still being a little off.

"Hey Sam," Dean said groggily.

Sam groaned. "What?"

"Casey has a date tonight."

Sam was almost instantly more alert. "You have a what?"

"A date. Why is that so surprising? I'm not that unattractive, am I?"

"Who's the date with?" Dean asked, more awake now. "And toss me one of those."

Casey chucked a lifesaver mint at him. "Fisher."

"Really? The hard-headed kid from last night? Why him?" Sam asked.

Casey shrugged. "Cause he asked. And he's cute. And if either of you tells anyone I said that you will wake up tomorrow morning to find that you are both bald."

ooOOoo

When Casey stepped out of the bathroom later that night, Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Don't think I've ever seen you get this dressed up, Bug," he commented. "You really like him, huh?"

She nodded, opening her mouth to threaten him.

He raised his hands. "I know, I know! If I say anything, I'll wake up bald. Trust me, I got the memo."

"I told him the motel we're staying at but not the room number. Figured it would be a bit safer that way. I just told him that I'd meet him out front."

"You look very pretty, Casey," Castiel commented. "Have fun."

Casey smiled. "Thank you, Cas. I will."

She walked out the front door, head held high.

"Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?" Dean muttered after she'd left.

"Because you're her brother," Sam answered, not lifting his head from his book. "It's your job to feel uncomfortable with any boy she decides to go out with."

"Remind me to threaten him when he brings her back," Dean requested, turning toward Sam and grabbing one of the many lore books scattered around him.

"Consider it done."


	3. Chapter 3

Casey did end up having quite a bit of fun. Fisher took her bowling (something she hadn't done since she was a child) and then to get ice cream after. Now, they were laughing and telling embarrassing stories about their family members.

"…and then they chucked holy water into Dean's face!" Casey giggled.

Fisher was laughing too. "That's nothing. One time, my dad and I turned an entire water tower into holy water. All the demons in the city totally flipped their lids!"

Casey laughed and then sighed. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time. Thank you, Fisher."

"Don't mention it. But you know-" he slid his hand across the table to grab Casey's. "-it doesn't have to end just yet."

Casey's eyes widened when she realized what he was implying.

"Oh, um… I'm not really into that sort of thing. I know my brothers are into one night stands, but I prefer stable relationships."

Fisher's eyes darkened, yet his smile never wavered. "But I took you bowling. And I bought you ice cream. It's the least you could do, don't you think?"

Casey was starting to get nervous. She had her phone with her and she knew her brothers would be there in minutes if she called for help, but still…

"Wait a second, you thought that bowling and ice cream was some sort of investment?" she asked, trying to pull her hand out of his.

He held her hand firmly, not letting it out of his grasp. "How about we go back to my place so that the fun can continue, hmm?"

She yanked her arm as hard as she could, finally freeing it from his grasp. "No," she stated firmly.

Then the smile left.

And Casey finally realized what had been bugging her the day before.

She recognized him.

"Wait for a second-"

Fisher, realizing immediately that she now knew who he was, slapped a ten dollar bill on the table and grabbed her hand.

"If you make a scene, I'll whip the gun out of my pocket and kill everyone in this ice cream parlor," he whispered menacingly into her ear.

Her eyes widened in fear as she nodded, letting him guide her outside. There were kids in that ice cream parlor. Her freedom wasn't worth their lives. Quiet as a mouse, she removed her phone from her pants pocket and dropped it into one of her boots.

"Let's put on a show, shall we?" Fisher said in an unsettlingly calm voice. "Open the door and put on your seat belt. I can still shoot up that parlor from here."

Casey did as she was told. Her hands were shaking so hard that it took a few tries to get the buckle done, but once she did she laid her hands nicely in her lap so that he could see where they were. She wasn't doing anything to risk the lives of all those innocent people.

Fisher started the car and locked the doors so she couldn't escape. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Casey began formulating a plan to escape. She knew that there wasn't any cell reception where Fisher lived; it was too remote. She would have to find a way to get a message to her brothers before then.

Wait a second…

 _Cas, if you can hear me, I need help. Tell Sam and Dean to go to Fisher's house, and hurry!_

She was desperately praying that Cas would get her message. She wasn't sure how the whole praying thing worked that Dean did, but he was her only hope at the moment. Her heart was beating out of her chest and she felt faint. She couldn't remember that last time she'd felt this afraid….

Scratch that. Yes, she could. She wished she could forget the last time she'd felt this afraid.

"You don't need to worry, sweetheart," Fisher cooed. "I'll be gentle with you. Then, when we're done, I'll let you free and Dad can have his fun hunting you down…"

Something clicked in her head. "It was you… you guys are the ones responsible for all the bodies…"

Fisher grinned. "I must say, your rugaru idea wasn't really that far off…"

Was this what a panic attack felt like? She'd never had one before, but she always imagined that they'd feel like this. Fast heartbeat, shaky hands, lightheadedness, extreme fear…

She kept repeating her message to Cas over and over in her head, hoping with every fiber of her being that he would hear.

 _Please hurry, please hurry, I'm so scared… I'm so scared…_

That car ride was possibly the longest of her life. Fisher and his father lived about twenty minutes from town. Casey calculated and discerned that if Cas had gotten her message and given it to the boys, they would be here in about fifteen minutes. She had to distract him until then. If they didn't come by then… Casey shuddered at the thought of the alternative.

The minute Fisher parked the car and unlocked the doors, Casey took off in a dead sprint into the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

While Casey was gone on her date, Sam, Dean, and Cas were poring over research books, trying to figure out what was causing these attacks.

"This makes no sense," Sam said frustratedly. "There's no known Pagan Gods that could be doing this, no monster I know of, no creature of any kind! What is going on?!"

Without warning, Castiel stood up, his face darkening.

"Casey is in trouble," he said darkly. "She needs us to go to the Kearns household immediately."

All the researching issues they had been having were quickly set aside.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, standing quickly and grabbing the keys from his coat pocket.

"Casey has simply said that she needs help and to get there as soon as possible," Castiel said vaguely.

Sam and Dean were out the door with no further questions asked. All three of them piled into the Impala as fast as they could. Dean gunned it out of the parking lot and down the main road, turning quickly onto the side road that led into the woods where Fisher and Harold lived.

"If that kid so much as lays a finger on my sister then so help me I will kill that son of a -"

Dean ranted angrily the entire drive there, not letting Sam or Cas get a word in edgewise.

Then, Sam had a thought.

"Hey Dean," he started.

"I should've never let Casey go with him-"

"Dean-"

"I knew there was something off about that kid-"

"Dean!"

"What?" Dean shouted angrily.

"What if Fisher and Harold are responsible for the bodies in the woods?"

That shut Dean up for a few minutes.

"It would explain why we cannot find any particular hunting pattern," Cas added.

Dean shook his head. "I've said it before, I'll say it again. Monsters I get, but people? People are crazy."

ooOOoo

Casey was running as fast and as long as she could. She could still hear Fisher, just a few steps behind her it seemed. She ran until she felt like she might faint, and then she ran some more. It seemed that the extra adrenaline pumping through her system was doing more than just increasing her fear. Finally, when she could run no more, she ran around the other side of a large oak tree and stopped to catch her breath. She didn't dare stay in one place for too long, but if she ran any longer without a break she would physically pass out.

She began taking in great gulps of air like she was a fish being put back into the water after staying out for an extended period of time. She was trying to be as quiet as possible, but it was hard to hear anything over the sound of blood rushing past her ears.

There was a gunshot through the night, signaling that Casey needed to start running again. She took off into the night once more, her breath not fully back but back enough to keep her going for a little bit longer. Her legs burned. When was the last time she had worked out this hard?

She saw a large amount of shrubbery ahead and slowed to a stop before climbing into the bush. Snakes and spiders be darned. She would rather them crawl all over her and live than stay out of the bush and die. She stayed very still (which was difficult, considering the fact that she was shaking so hard) and breathed as silently as possible. She thanked Chuck that she had decided to wear dark clothes on her date. She wouldn't be easily visible that way.

She could hear someone coming closer and curled closer into herself, trying hard to control her panic. She'd never been this afraid before.

"Casey… I know you're here, sweetheart… you can't hide from me…"

Casey fought back the urge to scream.

She saw him appear from around a tree, walking slowly. Casey closed her eyes, afraid that something as trivial as the whites of her eyes would give her away.

A minute later, she felt something clamp around her arm and drag her out of the bush. She opened her eyes to see Fisher's deranged green ones staring back at her.

"Hello there," he said with a wicked grin. "That wasn't very nice, running away from me, was it? I suppose we'll have to punish you before we have our fun…"

Without warning, he shoved her as hard as he could into the tree behind him. She slammed into it, hard, and felt her shoulder pop out of its socket. She stayed down, moaning in pain. She didn't have the energy to run away.

Fisher grabbed her bad shoulder and hauled her up to her feet again before socking her as hard as he could in the face. She stumbled back into the tree again, sliding down to the ground again. He kicked her in the stomach, hard. She was already covered in scratches and cuts from crawling into the bush and being subsequently dragged from it.

She felt rather faint, from both exhaustion and pain.

 _Help… woods… hurry…_

She had lost hope that the boys were coming. It had to have been at least half an hour by now. The next time Fisher dragged her up, she stayed limp. She was too drained to resist at all.

"Now, do you think that was enough punishment, or should we continue?"

All she could do was glare at him.

He shrugged. "Fair enough."

He threw her back down to the ground, hard. She didn't make a sound. She didn't even cry.

He bent down close to her ear and whispered, "Now then… are you ready for the fun part?"

She didn't reply, just closed her eyes and hoped that the darkness at the corners of her eyes would take her before she had to endure anything too traumatic…


	5. Chapter 5

When Sam, Dean, and Cas arrived at the Kearns residence, Fisher's car was already there. There were no lights on in the house.

"She's in the woods," Cas announced suddenly.

Dean hastily unlocked the trunk and began tossing weapons at Sam and Cas. They ran into the woods, shouting Casey's name.

They searched for a long while, yelling as loud as they could. Dean was starting to lose hope, growing more worried by the second. Where was she?

"Here! Over here! I'm here!"

ooOOoo

"Casey!" Dean's voice rang out through the forest.

Casey's eyes snapped open at the voice.

"HERE! OVER HERE! I'M HERE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Fisher kicked her again to try and silence her, but she just kept screaming.

No words could describe the relief she felt when she saw Sam, Dean, and Cas run into her field of view.

"Get away from my sister!" Dean yelled. He ran at Fisher and started to attack him.

Fisher matched his attacks almost exactly, causing Dean to doubt his abilities to take the guy out on his own. "Sam!"

"Get Casey out of here! Now!" Sam said to Cas before running off to help Dean.

Castiel immediately knelt next to Casey.

"Cas…" she mumbled.

"Don't speak," Cas said, his voice gentle yet full of uncontained fury at the man who had done this to the person he cared so much about. "Let's get you out of here…"

He picked her up bridal style, minding her hurt shoulder, and began walking back out of the woods.

"Howard and Fisher-" she started.

"Shh, it's alright, we already know. They are the ones responsible for the bodies in the woods. Sam and Dean will take care of them. Let's worry about you for now. What hurts?"

"Everything." She grabbed a fistful of Cas's white shirt, trying to cement herself in reality so she wouldn't slip into the dark one her mind was creating for her as they spoke.

"You got my message?"

"Of course I did. We left the minute I received it. Dean drove as fast as he could and broke a few traffic laws as well, if my memory serves me right. We were searching for you for quite a while."

"Thank you."

They were silent for a while after that, the only sound the crunching leaves under Cas's feet.

"I'm not teleporting to the Impala because it could hurt you more than you already have been," he said, answering her unspoken question.

"Oh."

"You need to stay awake. You have a minor concussion."

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it. You have a concussion, a dislocated shoulder, several bruised ribs, a black eye, and many scratches and bruises all over. Not to mention the exhaustion. You ran almost two full miles."

"Am I gonna be okay?"

"With proper medical care, you should make a full recovery."

"Oh, okay."

More silence.

"Cas?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we almost to the car?"

Casey was using the little strength she still had to keep from crying her eyes out in front of the angel. She was hoping to convince him to let her sit in the car on her own for a bit and he could stand outside. Then she could cry. She was already so embarrassed about what happened that night that she didn't want to add to said embarrassment by crying her eyes out.

Cas seemed to sense the meaning behind her question.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," he informed her. "None of this was your fault."

They were coming up on the Impala now; Casey could see it through the trees.

"It is perfectly normal to have feelings of fear about what has happened. Just because you feel fear does not mean you are weak."

Cas set Casey gently on the ground so he could open the car door and move some things to make enough room for her to sit comfortably.

He picked her up and put her in the back seat of the car, making sure she was comfortable, before going to close the door. He had read her thoughts and knew that she wanted to be alone in the car to cry. Before he could though, she grabbed the hem of his trench coat.

"Don't go away," she said in a small voice.

He slid in to sit next to her and closed the car door.

"Do you wish to talk about what happened?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I just want my brothers…" she said, choking back a sob.

Cas put an arm around her to try and provide some semblance of comfort. He could tell that she was going to try her hardest not to cry while he was there, but he would give her whatever comfort she would allow him to give.

They sat there for a little while in silence. Cas ended up shedding his trenchcoat at one point and giving it to Casey to help stop her shivering. She was curled into his side, waiting for her brothers to come back and rescue her from the demons threatening to overtake her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean underestimated how skilled Fisher was when he began to attack him. The kid was matching his every move, blocking every punch he threw. For somebody with the body shape of a beanpole, this kid was strong.

"Sam!" he shouted.

Sam ran up behind him and began attack Fisher as well. With two against one, Fisher was slowly being overcome. Dean faintly heard Cas talking to Casey as he carried her back to the car, adding to his rage.

Finally, Dean pushed Fisher up against one of the trees, pinning him there. Fisher was panting for breath, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

"Sam, go find Harold. I've got this scumbag," Dean said in a low voice.

Sam complied, running back to the house.

"Now," Dean said, leaning in closely to Fisher's face, "you're gonna answer a few questions for me. And if you don't, I'll shove this knife somewhere important. Do you understand?"

Fisher nodded frantically.

"Good. First question. Did you take advantage of my sister?"

He shook his head, eyes wide.

"Good answer," Dean growled. "Second question. Why?"

"It was my Dad's idea," he stuttered. "He told me about you guys and how you started the apocalypse. So we made this plan. We started by killing off a few college girls, just enough to start gaining attention. Then we called you guys. Dad didn't know that you guys had a sister, so he told me to take her out and get rid of her. Then you guys would be invested personally. That would cloud your judgment. Then, when we went out to hunt, we'd shoot you guys in the back."

Dean swore loudly, causing Fisher to jump.

"You killed a bunch of innocent girls just to get us to come here?" he yelled. "That's it. Come on."

Dean dragged Fisher out of the woods by his shirt collar and towards the house. He all but kicked in the door, where he was met with Sam.

"Take this lowlife and tie him up in the basement. Then call the police to come and take him away."

Sam nodded. "Harold is already down there. There's enough evidence in this house to put them away for a long, long time."

"Good."

Dean turned on his heels and walk back to the car. He saw Casey sitting inside with Castiel. He knocked lightly on the door, causing her to jump violently.

"Dean!" she all but shrieked. She unlocked the car door for him so he could slide into the backseat with her. She hugged him tightly with her good arm, finally allowing the tears to fall. He held her as close as humanly possible, whispering softly in her ear to try and calm her down.

"Shh… it's okay baby girl, Dean's got you… it's all over, everything's gonna be fine… Dean's got you…"

"He… he tried… he tried to…" she tried to explain what happened but couldn't find the words through her tears.

"Shh, I know… I know what he tried to do… it's alright, Sam and I took care of everything…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Hey," he said, pulling back so he could look her in the eye. "Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. None of this was your fault, you understand?"

She nodded before burying her face in his shoulder again.

Dean sighed in relief when he saw Sam coming out of the house. He looked a little worse for wear, but nowhere near as bad as Casey did. Casey looked like she'd just come out on the losing side of a cage fight.

Sam saw Dean holding Casey in the back seat and immediately knew that whatever had gone down was bad. Really, really bad. Casey never cried, ever, especially not in front of them. His mind started coming up with scenarios about what could have possibly happened, and none of them were good. He opened the driver's door and slid into the car.

"Hey, Case," he said softly, reaching around to pat her knee gently. "Let's get you home, okay?"

She didn't answer. She was too scared to leave the safety of Dean's embrace just yet.

"That guy… he didn't, you know…."

"No, he didn't," Dean confirmed. "I interrogated him. I made sure he didn't."

Sam nodded. "Good."

He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.

"Let's get out of here."


	7. Chapter 7

By the time they got to their hotel around thirty minutes later, Casey had stopped crying. She was silent, the adrenaline in her system finally starting to wear off. She was tired, exhausted even, but she had no desire to go to sleep.

Dean shook her good shoulder the slightest bit.

"We're here, baby girl," he said sweetly. "Let's get out of the car and get you fixed up, okay?"

She nodded.

Dean scooped her up and carried her out of the car and into the motel room. He set her down on one of the beds and started to gently examine her shoulder.

"Yeah, this bad boy's been popped out of its socket," he said. "We need to pop it back in. Sam?"

Sam came in with the first aid kit and dropped it on the bed before positioning his hands to pop Casey's shoulder back into place. Dean held her other hand, knowing how badly this was going to hurt.

"Alright, on three. One-" Sam pushed and popped her shoulder into place once more.

She shrieked in pain, squeezing Dean's hand, hard. Tears started leaking out of her eyes once more.

Dean hugged her again. "That's the worst bit," he said. "Everything here on out is cupcakes and rainbows, I promise."

She was taking deep breaths to try and calm herself back down again, but it wasn't working very well.

"Try not to move your shoulder," Sam advised. "It's gonna take a few weeks for it to fully heal. Until then, it'll be really easy to pop it out again. I'm gonna see if I can find the sling that Dean used when he dislocated his shoulder."

"Do we have any pain meds?" Dean asked, watching Sam rummage around in the first aid kit.

"Yeah, we've got ibuprofen-"

"I would advise against giving her ibuprofen," Cas spoke up.

Sam looked at him. "Why?"

"She has a minor concussion. Ibuprofen can increase the risk of internal bleeding. I would suggest acetaminophen, if available."

"Aceto-what now?" Dean asked, confused.

"Tylenol," Sam explained, holding up a bottle of the small white pills.

"Anything else we should know, Cas?" Dean questioned.

"Casey should be monitored for the next 24 hours so as to notice any change in her condition. If she decides to sleep, she should be woken periodically to make sure that she can still be awoken. Otherwise, the rest of her injuries consist of bruised ribs, a black eye, and multiple bruises and scrapes."

Dean clenched his fist at the thought of what his tough as nails little sister had gone through that night. He'd seen her cry before, but never like this. She preferred to let out her emotions behind closed doors, not in front of them. For her to break down like this meant she had endured some serious mental and emotional trauma.

"Dean?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"What did you do to them?"

Dean planted a kiss on her forehead. "Let's just say that they won't be doing this to anyone else ever again."

She understood the meaning behind his answer. "Okay."

Sam was sitting on the other side of her on the bed, putting her arm in a sling.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened? It might make you feel better," he offered.

She sniffed and nodded. "I wanna Goblet of Fire this thing so I never have to talk about it again."

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam, who shook his head and mouthed 'I'll explain later'.

"It was an okay date," she started. "We went bowling and then we got ice cream. I actually had a lot of fun. But then, when we were eating our ice cream, he started insinuating that he wanted to go back to his place. I told him no, but he wouldn't take that for an answer. Then he told me to get up and walk to his car or he would take out his gun and shoot up the ice cream parlor. There were kids in there. I wasn't gonna put them in danger, so I did what he asked."

"Then what happened?" Dean prompted.

"He drove all the way to his house. I was trying to send a message to you guys through Cas the entire ride there."

"I received your message. We followed your instructions and drove to the man's place of residence," Cas cut in.

"When we got there, I bolted out of the car and into the woods. I just kept running and running as fast as I could until I couldn't run anymore, so then I crawled into a bush to hide. That's how I got all these scratches."

She showed them the multiple shallow cuts and scrapes the branches had given her. "He found me and yanked me out of the bushes. Then he roughed me up for running away."

Casey was starting to cry again. "Then he told me the fun part was about to begin. Before he could do anything, you guys showed up."

Dean shushed her gently before looking up at Sam.

Sam just shook his head. "Let's get these cuts cleaned up and then you can change your clothes. How does that sound?"

"Good."

Sam patiently cleaned each and every scrape on her arms and legs, making sure there were no wood splinters in any of them, before bandaging them up. By the time he finished, Casey was half asleep, leaning on Dean for support.

"Okay! All done," Sam announced, packing up the kit. He handed the Tylenol bottle to Dean, who opened it and took out a couple of pills.

"Here Casey, take these. Then you can go to bed, okay?"

She took a deep breath in before nodding and sitting up. She popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed them with the water bottle Sam handed her.

Cas walked over to her.

"Will you permit me to help you fall asleep?" he asked.

She nodded. Cas placed his fingers on her forehead and she slumped into Dean, completely asleep.

"We'll need to wake her every few hours to check her memory from the concussion, but she shouldn't have any dreams while she's asleep," Cas explained to Dean.

Dean nodded, gesturing to Sam to pull the sheets back. "Thanks, Cas."

He maneuvered Casey so she was laying down in bed then tucked the sheets around her, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Well that was an adventure," Sam stated drily.

Dean just shook his head. "More like a nightmare. I dunno that I'll be able to sleep after that."

"Then you can be the one that wakes Casey up every few hours," Sam said. "You may not want to sleep, but I'm exhausted."

Dean sat down on Casey's bed, reclining against the headboard. His hand made it's way to her shoulder, brushing his thumb back and forth across it absentmindedly.

"It's not your fault," Castiel said from the opposite bed. "So do not blame yourself."

Dean nodded, not really listening but getting the gist anyway. He still felt terrible that Casey had gone through what she did. He knew logically that none of it was his fault, but that didn't stop him from feeling horrible anyway.

Casey turned in her sleep so she was facing Dean. Her arm found his leg and gripped it tight. He chuckled.

"After all these years, you still prefer sleeping in my bed instead of your own," he said softly, running a hand through her hair. Sometimes, when he looked at her, he could still see that scared six-year-old girl that wore his t-shirts to bed and wouldn't let him out of her sight. Then he'd blink and she'd shift back into the beautiful nineteen-year-old that she was now. She'd grown so much in more ways than one. She'd gone from a little girl afraid of her own shadow to a strong young woman who could face almost anything head on. Dean couldn't be more proud of her.

"She gonna be okay, you think?" Sam asked, bringing Dean out of his thoughts.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. I think she'll be okay."


End file.
